The Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) is an international non-profit organization of business schools that provides products and services to academic institutions and prospective graduate management education students. The organization owns the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), a standardized assessment that is widely used by graduate business administration programs (e.g. MBA, Master of Accountancy, Master of Finance, Master of Science in Business/Management, etc.) to measure quantitative, verbal, analytical and integrated reasoning skills in applicants. GMAC also provides survey research and market analysis aimed at helping graduate management admissions professionals make informed decisions, and serves as an information source for journalists and members of the public interested in information about management education and the role it plays in the global economy.

GMAC is based in Reston, Virginia. In 2007, the organization opened an office in London, its first international location.[1] GMAC also has offices based in Hong Kong and Gurgaon, India.[2] The Graduate Management Admission Council has 212 member schools from 22 countries, including Australia, Canada, China, France, Great Britain, India and the United Kingdom.[3] In 2007, the organization embarked on an effort to increase its membership outside North America.[4] GMAC is governed by a 15-member board of directors that includes representation from business schools and private industry.[5]

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Today, the GMAT Exam is used by more than 6,000 graduate management education programs at approximately 2,100 business schools worldwide. The exam, taken more than 230,000 times per year,[6] is designed as an objective predictor of how well a student will perform academically in the first year of a graduate business education program. Through the Validity Study Service (VSS), the GMAT has been shown by researchers to be a reliable predictor of academic performance in business school,[7] especially when used in combination with an applicant's undergraduate grade point average.[8] In June 2012, a new section was added to the GMAT Exam called Integrated Reasoning. This section is designed to measure a test taker's ability to evaluate information presented in new formats from multiple sources.

GMAC's other products include the Graduate Management Admission Search Service (GMASS), a searchable database of more than 350,000 GMAT Exam and mba.com registrants that admissions professionals use to search for and recruit candidates.[9] Admissions professionals can also use GMATCH, GMAC's two-day online global recruiting event.[10]

In 2013, GMAC launched the Reflect Self-Assessment and Development Tool. It is an online assessment and self-directed, soft-skills development program. It can be used with or without a facilitator. It evaluates 10 soft skills including innovation, operational thinking, and resilience that were identified by admissions directors, corporate recruiters, and top executives as critical in the classroom and office.[11]

GMAC research includes surveys and trend analysis on graduate management education worldwide. GMAC Research includes:
Research on the GMAT Exam:

Volume trends. GMAC members have access to the latest in GMAT volume trends, a monthly resource with five-year comparisons.

Profile of GMAT Candidates. The annual publication released in November offers five- and 10-year trend data on average scores and GMAT volume by demographic breakdowns.

Geographic Trend Reports. World, European, Asian, and North American Geographic Trend Report, as well as the GMAT Trends in Student Mobility, offer analyses of business school student mobility based on GMAT volume and score-sending data.

Global Management Education Graduate Survey. Survey of graduate business school students in their final year at participating business schools, a few months before graduation, expressing their opinions about their education, the value of their degrees, and what they intend to do with their degrees after graduation.

Corporate Recruiters Survey. Survey of employers examines the job market for graduate business students as well as employer needs and expectations.

mba.com Prospective Students Survey. Probes the opinions, needs, and preferences of potential graduate business students who registered on mba.com, the GMAC website for potential students as well as the portal for the GMAT exam.

Alumni Perspectives Survey. A longitudinal study of former respondents to the Global Management Education Graduate Survey. The study documents job characteristics for both the first jobs alumni held after graduation and their current jobs; tracks changes in responsibilities, promotions, and salary over time; assesses the benefits of graduate management education in retrospect; and monitors alumni educational needs.

GMAC offers an array of professional development programs and conferences for graduate management admissions professionals, including the GMAC Annual Industry Conference, the Admissions Institute for New Professionals, and an annual Leadership Conference, as well as Global Symposia and Webinars.[13] The gmac.com website serves as the informational hub for all GMAC webinars for admissions professionals and students. The site also includes information on upcoming products and research findings related to graduate management education and the student pipeline.

GMAC owns mba.com, which provides information on a wide range of topics for prospective graduate management students, including GMAT exam registration, program options, financial aid opportunities, career choices, and alumni profiles. The website also features GMAT study products, available through an online store, as well as free GMAT preparation software, available to registrants of mba.com. The website also serves as the portal for scheduling GMAT exam appointments at one of the more than 600 test centers located in 114 countries worldwide.

GMAC is committed to investing in strategic philanthropic initiatives to benefit business and management education globally. Established in 2008, the GMAC Management Education for Tomorrow Fund (MET Fund) is a $10 million commitment that benefits graduate management students, faculty and institutions. The Ideas to Innovation Challenge (i2i) was established in 2011 and featured the submission of 650 ideas to improve graduate management education. Of these 650 ideas, 20 were chosen to be implemented through proposals from schools and other educational institutions. On April 17, 2012, the MET Fund announced US$7.1 million in grants to 12 schools and organizations that submitted the most creative implementation plans.[14]

In 2005, GMAC launched TeamMBA in 2005, a global initiative for community service by students in graduate management programs. Since launching TeamMBA, hundreds of students, staff, and faculty from scores of schools have donated thousands of volunteer hours and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for charities and community organizations.